Egg washing machine and roller therefor



March 31, 1953 A. MARKUSEN ET AL 2,632,901

' EGG WASHING MACHINE AND ROLLER THEREFOR Filed Nov. I 10, 1947 l J I INVEN TORS ANDREW MAR/(USEN JOHN BAH/V5 N ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1953{EGG WASHINGMACHIME- AND- Rotten I -.T-HEREFOR viiiiatwimsrk t sen;'retatm ja iaimims. Balinsen, Penng'rove, Calif.

iApplieationiNovembr 10, is im'seriaiiiyoitiiaott (o1. is- 321 2) 7Cle'iiiiis.

qThiszinvention relates to an egg-washing machine V a The:primary'object of :this invention vis toprovide an ,egg washing machinein which the-eggs are rotated and shifted back "and forth against a=wiping or cleaning surface in approximately thezsame :manner as theeggs would be turned, washed and wiped in manual operation; the-machinebeing capable of washing andcleaning a comparatively large slumber of egs in a very; short time, 'eiiiciently and with minimum breakage. s

The features of the herein invention" include: aroller-adjacenta wipingboard or'surface with grooves and ribs arranged :on its periphery insubstantially parallel curves so as to rotate and shift the eggs backand forth upon and against the wiping surface, both the wiping surfaceand. the rollersbeing covered with "a :suitable padding;

Anotherfe-ature of the invention is the provision of selective operationeither byiproviding a, trough under the rollers with cleaning fluid inthe trough to be soaked up by the absorbent pads on the rollers and."applied to 'theeggs; or 'at will thedevice may be used with a spray fdirected "upon the eggs fromabove forwash'in'g V the same;

Another feature of the invention is to utilize this-spray device for theadditionalfunction-of preventing the accidental carrying of the eggsover the top of therollers; I r a 1 Another feature is the rovision ota-"drying duct which is covered by anab'sorbentcovering through "whichthe drying air can reach the eggs upon trays-at one end of the'machinein such a mannerthat any collection of moisture at the tipsfof the'eggsis'absorbed 'by'this' covering and suitably dried or evaporated bythe drying air flow.

, e are aware that somechanges'may'be made "in the general arrangementsand combinations of-the" several devices and parts, as well as in the*detailsof the construction thereofwithout departing from the scope ofthe present invention assetforth in the-following specification,andas'-definecl in the following claims; hence we "do not limit ourinvention to the exact arrangements and combinations of the saidde-,vice and parts as described in the said specification, nor do weconfine ourselves to the exact-details of the construction of'the saidparts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

"*With the foregoing and other'objects in view,

ithwill 'wbe --made--mani-fest in thefollowingdetailedidscripti-on,"reference is-nae to fire accoinp'anying drawingsfor "the illustrative embodiment'of the invention,'wherein:

Fig. 1 is a to'pfplan viewo'f a mac-nine eenstructed in accord'aficelwith bur invention. I Fig 2 issatside viewfpa'rtlyin'fsection' of'sai'dmachine. A

-Ffig. e is arossTsectiofial-iview16fthe-washiii machine. M

The invention cg 'rally includes transverse brackets 2 pie-ant:responding to the zrnumbr flrollrs .to used on the paidaicular machine.,Afipluralit of'iolh ers -4, having central 'shafts B therein, of whichare journalled in the bearings T3-at.the

opposite ends thereof. .It ispreferablefthat' a bottom trough "beprovided between tfie=brack- 0 ets 2- andunder the rollers l-for holdingwa er or in case-of the-spraying of the-machine to properly collectanddrain "the cleaning] 31m from the machine. -For--this purpose-a suitablebottom 'Iis provided between the brackets and the side walls 8 s c-as toform a trough extendingunder the rollers, with the bottom 1 m;- erablyinclined toward one end and furnished witha suitable drainage outlet 9.M

At one end of each" roller shaft; '6 1s a drive pulley I l which pulleysare connected-bygontric motor 14 forrotating'all therollers-insynchronism. As-shown -in the-sectional view Fig. 3, :therollers "are connected to 'the' respective shafts 6 by key VIE, or-iin'any other {suitable manner. ,7 p

Adjacent to' each -;roller'- 4 :and "slightly spaced from theupwardlymoving 'sidethereof, -is-a board I! which isheld on theend-bracket 2--inan inclined position outwardly and away from the upwardly moving side ofthe -adjacent roller 4, so that it presents an inclinedwipingor wash-:ing surface 18. "Suitable padding -.or absorbent covering 19 issecured"around-theboard-H. {it is to be notedthat the bottomsbf theboard 11 do :not extend to thebottom-1-of--the trough so that the spacebetween the rollers wherein the fluid is contained; is not partitionedoffer separated but 'it allows the continuous movement andsimultaneous-draining of thesfluidin -the entire trough. 1

The top spacebetween the boards I his iconifipletely open. "Above "thetop "of rieachr'roller iand parallel with thecsame-and"tspaced-etherefrom is :a :spray: :p'ipe '21 with nozzle:.:orificesr 22 formed on the same and directed generally tangentiallyto the adjacent roller 4 and upon the surface l8 of the board ll.Generally the spray is directed downwardly into the spacing 23 betweenthe roller and the board I! so as to wash the eg s, in additionfurnishing the washing and wiping fluid upon the absorbent covering ofthe roller and of the-board. All the pipes 2| are connected to a mainpipe 24 which suitably supports them in spaced relation and which initself is in turn suitably supported above the machine or on the frameof the machine in any manner not shown.

The preferred embodiment of the roller 4 includes a core 26 which may beeither carved from wood, or molded, or suitably constructed withalternate channels 2'! and ribs 28 generally parallel with one anotherand arranged circumferentially of the respective rollers d. The shapesof the ribs 28 determines the shapes of the channels 21. The spacingbetween the ribs 28 is such that the channel 21 is wide enough toaccommodate an egg therebetween for rolling the egg in the channel. Theribs are suitably curved generally inrthe shape of a double 8, namely,each rib 28 is bent or curved axially with respect to the roller atleast twice in opposite directions so that the egg rolling in thechannel 21 is shifted by the channel and by the adjacent ribs 28 backand forth. Inasmuch as the eggs are placed between the upwardly movingside of roller 4 and the adjacent inclined surface 18 of the board W,the eggs are rolled and wiped upon said surface I8 and are properlywashed and rubbed and wiped on all sides and ends thereof by theseadjacent padded surfaces. The eggs are placed upon the respectivewashing surfaces l8 by hand and by gravity they tend to remain close tothe space 23 between each roller and the adjacent surface 18. If some ofthe eggs are accidentally carried upwardly by the roller, then the topconduit 2i performs a secondary function, namely, as an abutment toprevent the egg going over to the downward moving side of the roller.The egg abutting against the pipe 2! will fall back toward the space 23adjacent the upwardly moving side of the roller 4. V

The top of the space above the rollers being entirely exposed, the eggscan be easily placed in and removed from the channels 21 and theoperation can always be observed to ascertain when the eggs aresufficiently clean for removal. The padding or cover on the rollers aclosely conforms to the contour of the channels 2'! and the ribs 28 ofthe rollers 4.

At an end of the machine is provided a duct 3|, the outlet frame 32, ofwhich is substantially rectangular and is adapted to support thereon twoprocessing trays of the usual type, each containing-36 eggs. This duct3! is connected by its curved elbow 33 to a suitable blower 34 whichblows heated air out through the duct 3! and against the eggs in theprocessing trays 35. At

the point of support of the trays is provided an ends pointing down andmoisture collects at said ends, which if not wiped off may cause rottingor other defects in the eggs later on. The absorbent flexible coveringor muslin 31 is blown by the air against the bottoms of the eggs and iscapable of conforming to their irregular shapes so as to touch thebottoms of all the eggs in a processing tray and blot the moisture fromthe same, which moisture is then quickly dried out by the hot air blownthrough the duct 3|. The duct and the tray supports are mounted on thesame frame as the washing apparatus providing a compact unit where theoperator can easily place the eggs into the rollers and remove the sameafter they are washed and cleaned to place them in the processing traysfor the drying operation.

The machine is highly efficient and it gives great selectivity as to themanner of operation. It can be used as a washer wherein the fluid ismaintained in the trough 1 and is absorbed and carried upwardly by therespective rollers, or the top spray may be employed either incombination with the fluid in the trough or without it for performingthe washing operation. The eggs are gently rotated and shifted againstthe washing or rubbing surface of the adjacent boards and are preventedfrom being carried over the rollers so that the complex rotary andshifting motion of the eggs accomplishes complete washing, wiping andrubbing of the eggs thereby saving a great deal of damage and loss nowoccasioned by the manual washing of the eggs by egg producers.

We claim:

1. In an egg washing machine, the combination with a washing and wipingsurface, of a roller, the upward moving side thereof being adjacent tosaid surface, a plurality of generally circumferential and parallelspaced ribs along the periphery of said roller, each of said ribs beingcurved in a multiple curved shape, the curve being offset axially withrespect to said roller alternately in opposite directions for shiftingthe eggs back and forth along said surface during the rotation of saidroller.

2. In an egg washing machine, the combination with a washing and wipingsurface, of a roller, the upward moving side thereof being adjacent tosaid surface, a plurality of generally circumferential and parallelspaced ribs along the periphery of said roller, each of said ribs beingcurved in a multiple curved shape, the curve being offset axially withrespect to said roller alternately in opposite directions for shiftingthe eggs back and forth along said surface during the rotation of saidroller, said roller being padded.

3. In an egg washing machine, the combination with a washing and wipingsurface, of a roller, the upward moving side thereof being adjacent tosaid surface, a plurality of generally circumferential and parallelspaced ribs along the periphery of said roller, each of said ribs beingcurved in a multiple curved shape, the curve being offset axially withrespect to said roller alternately in opposite directions for shiftingthe eggs back and forth along said surface during the rotation of saidrollers, and absorbent covering on said surface and on said roller.

4. In an egg washing machine, the combination with a washing and wipingsurface, of a roller, the upward moving side thereof being adjacent tosaid surface, a plurality of generally circumferential and parallelspaced ribs along the periphery of said roller, each of said ribs beingcurved in a multiple curved shape, the curve being offset axially withrespect to said roller alternately in opposite directions for shiftingthe eggs back and forth along said surface during the rotation of saidroller, and absorbent covering aaaaom 7 to said body for shifting eggstherebetween back andiforth aslthe roller is rotated.

6. ;A roller for an egg washing machine of the character described,comprising a substantially cylindrical :body, a series of substantiallyparallel ridges"'pr0t1'i1ding from said body circumferefntially, each"ridge being curved, the curve being; offset axi lly in oppositedirections with respect to s d body for shifting the eggs therebetweenback and {fifth as the roller is rotated, the lspacf, ing between? theadjacent ridges conforming: to

the size ofthe eggs to be accommodated therebetween for rolling saideggs against any adjacent surface; n

7. 'Ajroller for an egg washing machine of the character described,comprising a substantially cylindrical body, a series of substantiallyparallel ridges {protruding from said body circunlif'ren-jtiallyLeachridge being curved, the curve bfeingj oifset axially inopposite directions with respect to said body for shifting the eggstherebetween 6 back and forth as the roller is rotated, and a paddingcovering said roller and conforming to the shape of said ridges and thechannels therebetween. ANDREW MARKUSEN.

JOHN S. BAHNSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,081,367 Cook 1 Dec. 16, 19131,340,020 Corcoran May 11, 1920 1,697,601 Jones 1 Jan. 1, 1929 1,699,880Cutler Jan. 22, 1929 1,844,264 Skinner Feb. 9, 1932 1,942,204 CourcheneJan. 2, 1934 1,955,749 Jones Apr. 24, 1934 1,958,720 Schmidt May 15,1934 2,039,280 Brogden May 5, 1936 2,087,844 Hansen July 20, 19372,438,666 Hodson Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date315,739 Italy Mar. 6, 1934 417,640 Germany Aug. 17, 1925

